


Room Enough

by Brumeier



Series: Bite Sized Fic 2020 [55]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Titanic Fusion, Hypothermia, M/M, Prompt Fill, Science, Survival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25148203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: LJ Comment Fic for 100 Words on the 1990s prompt:Any, any/any, Titanic (1997)In which Rodney refuses to allow any romantically heroic sacrifices from John.
Relationships: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard
Series: Bite Sized Fic 2020 [55]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1610332
Comments: 27
Kudos: 60
Collections: Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2020





	Room Enough

The water was so cold it felt like Rodney was being stabbed with knives. He hoped his hands wouldn’t get so numb he’d lose his grip on the wooden panel that was acting as his raft. 

All around him were cries and shouts as the _Titanic_ continued its journey down to the depths. He didn’t know where the life raft was that carried Jeannie and his baby niece, but he hoped they’d made it safely away.

“Rodney!”

He looked up, teeth chattering, and saw John in the water. He was close, really close, and Rodney held his breath until John was able to put his hands on the makeshift raft.

“You m-m-made it.”

John clung to the edge of the raft, almost his whole body submerged in the icy Atlantic waters. Rodney tried to kick his sluggish brain in gear. There was room enough for John beside him, but the problem was with buoyancy. With two on the raft, they’d still end up mostly submerged.

“W-w-wanted to say g-g-goodbye,” John said. He was still shivering, which was good, but his lips were really blue.

Rodney wasn’t about to let John sacrifice himself. Not when they’d only just met. Not when John just might be the perfect complement to Rodney’s jagged personality.

Of course!

“No!” Rodney’s fingers fumbled for the ties on his life vest. They just needed a little extra buoyancy. Just enough to keep them alive until help arrived.

“W-w-what –”

“I kn-know it’s cold,” Rodney explained. The raft shook and bobbed as he worked his way out of the life vest. “B-b-but if we can t-t-tie this under, w-w-we can b-b-both float.”

The thing Rodney loved most about John was his intelligence, and even with the cold making them both sluggish and slow, Rodney could see that John understood what he was saying.

“Give it,” John said.

Rodney handed John the life vest but kept hold of one set of tie strings. There was one long and horrible moment when John ducked down under the water and Rodney wasn’t sure he’d resurface, but then he popped up on the other side of the raft. It took them a few minutes to get their stiff fingers working well enough to secure the vest, but once they did the change was immediate.

“C-c-come on!”

Rodney clung to the raft with one hand and used the other to help John slide aboard as well. The life vest made all the difference and kept almost eighty percent of their bodies out of the water. The exposure would do them in eventually, but hopefully not before some sort of rescue arrived.

At least now they had a chance.

“Y-y-you’re a genius,” John said, his whole body wracked with shivering spasms.

Rodney kept one arm around him. There wasn’t much body heat between them, but he was happy to share what little was left.

They floated there amidst bodies and chunks of ice and ship debris until the _Carpathia_ arrived, surviving against all odds.

**Author's Note:**

>  **AN:** Ah, _Titanic_. The movie I can't watch because it literally makes me nauseous. (When I originally saw it in theaters I ended up having food poisoning. It tainted the experience for me.) Like so many, I was annoyed that Rose couldn't share her floating piece of wood. I knew Rodney wouldn't give up so easily and, thanks to Mythbusters, he knew a way to fix the problem. ::grins::


End file.
